— Day 1 - Set Up and Introduction to Minecraft: Our primary goal for this day is to assist students in setting up Minecraft and to familiarize kids with our camp’s objectives. Students will be introduced to how to join a Minecraft server, basic controls, and simple mechanics in the game.

⁠— Day 2 - Creative Group Builds: Today's focus will be on Creative mode within Minecraft. Campers will learn about different blocks, how to place and remove them, and will work together to create their very first structures in teams!

⁠— Day 3 - Surviving in Minecraft: Campers will shift from Creative mode to Survival mode on this day, learning about the difference between the two and why someone would pick one over the other. In Survival mode, campers will start to learn about gathering materials, crafting tools, and staying safe in Minecraft.

⁠— Day 4 - Exploring the World: Now that campers have a few days of Minecraft experience under their belts, they'll begin to explore the world around them in Minecraft. We'll continue learning about crafting, using equipment, and we may even have to fight off a few hostile mobs if they cross our path!

⁠— Day 5 - Thriving in Minecraft: On our final day together, we'll start to learn about more advanced Minecraft concepts such as upgrading equipment, building structures that help us defend ourselves from mobs, and perhaps even the elusive Nether portal!

Connected Camps is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2015 with the mission to build a global online community where kids build, code, play, and learn alongside one another. Our programs are designed based on extensive research in the learning sciences. The founders and leaders of Connected Camps, Mimi Ito and Katie Salen, are professors at the University of California, Irvine, who specialize in the design of online learning experiences that are fun, social, and directly tied to academic outcomes. Learn more about the research behind Connected Camps at the Connected Learning Alliance resource site: https://clalliance.org/ 

One thing that makes our programs unique is our near-peer mentorship model. Our programs are led by young adults and college students, often with the help of high school volunteers. We hire counselors and coaches from top universities in computer science, game development, economics, social studies, and the arts, and train them on how to facilitate project-based learning with younger kids. Our young instructors have the same passion for technology, games, and digital making as our learners, and take on the role of instructors, as well as fellow enthusiasts and relatable role models.

The curriculum for this program was designed by a team of counselors pursuing degrees relevant to the material at hand. The learning experiences in this class are driven by these counselors’ academic expertise in the field, along with their desire to share their passion for the subject with a group of excited learners. All of Connected Camps’ curricula are vetted by the organization’s Product Manager, Matthew, who possesses a Masters in Secondary Education and a deep belief in the power of collaborative virtual learning.